As the Detroit Lions (1-1) enter Week 3 of the 2026 season, they will finally get back to a \u201cnormal\u201d in-season workweek. Coming off a Thursday night game, the Lions got a couple of extra days of rest before practices this week, spending most of that time in the film room correcting mistakes, but now that Wednesday has arrived, they\u2019re back on the practice field as they prepare to host the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s take a look at Wednesday\u2019s injury report and get you up to date with what we know.<\/p>\n
Note: Any changes from the most recent injury report will be bolded.<\/p>\n
RB Isiah Pacheco (MCL\/Back) \u2014 injured reserve, expected to be out until December<\/a>C Cade Mays (Wrist) \u2014 injured reserveOL Giovanni Manu (Undisclosed) \u2014 NFIS Brian Branch (Achilles) \u2014 PUPS Kerby Joseph (Knee) \u2014 PUPS Avonte Maddox (foot) \u2014 injured reserve, expected to be out for the season<\/a><\/p>\n A new NFL rule allows any player on PUP to open their return-to-play practice window after just two weeks into the regular season, but unfortunately, neither Branch nor Joseph is healthy enough to begin that process this week<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Branch has a chance to be back sooner than Kerby, but it won\u2019t be this week,\u201d coach Dan Campbell told the media on Monday.<\/p>\n While Branch is consistently making progress, every update on Joseph gets bleaker by the report<\/a>. On Tuesday, Campbell told 97.1 The Ticket that Joseph continues to work to strengthen his knee, and despite being in this stage of recovery for roughly a year, he\u2019s still not ready, with no clear sign of when that will happen.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to come as it comes, and he\u2019s not ready,\u201d Campbell explained. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to get him there as fast as we can, and we\u2019re trying to be as smart about it as we can. And if he\u2019s ready, when he\u2019s ready, of course we want to play him and get him on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n Things got even tougher at safety, as Maddox injured his foot in Week 2 and will miss the remainder of the season after requiring surgery<\/a>.<\/p>\n G Ben Bartch (foot) \u2014 New injuryDT Alim McNeill (personal) \u2014 New additionS Thomas Harper (ankle) \u2014 New injury<\/p>\n Batch did not appear to suffer an injury against the Bills last Thursday, but it\u2019s possible his injury showed up after the fact, as we saw with Blake Miller in Week 2. We won\u2019t get an official update on his status until coach Dan Campbell speaks with the media again on Friday, but he\u2019ll be a name to watch when the Thursday injury report is released.<\/p>\n McNeill\u2019s absence was expected, as Campbell notified the media ahead of practice and suggested that it was a non-issue:<\/p>\n \u201cMac won\u2019t be out there. There\u2019s nothing to it. He\u2019ll be back ready. I mean, he\u2019ll be back here probably just when practice ends, so no big deal and be ready to roll.\u201d<\/p>\n Harper, like Bartch, didn\u2019t appear to suffer an injury in Week 2, but with Maddox landing on injured reserve and neither Branch nor Joseph ready to return, this situation is potentially very concerning. While it\u2019s not 100% certain that he is next in line to step into the starting lineup, if he can\u2019t go, the Lions secondary would be limited to just Chuck Clark and Christian Izien as capable starters. Though this week the Lions added safeties Jalen Mills<\/a> (practice squad) and Bishop Fitzgerald<\/a> (53-man roster).<\/p>\n LG Christian Mahogany (hip) \u2014 returned to practice after missing last gameRT Blake Miller (knee) \u2014 returned to practice after missing last gameRG Tate Ratledge (elbow) \u2014 New injuryEDGE Ahmed Hassanein (illness) \u2014 New injury<\/p>\n Campbell had previously noted that Mahogany was expected to practice this week, and he did indeed get some reps in. He\u2019s likely not out of the evaluation process yet, but he looks on track to have a chance to play in this game. With Bartch not practicing on Wednesday, Mahogany\u2019s injury status will be important to track this week.<\/p>\n Miller would have had a chance to play in Week 2 if the game was on Sunday, rather than Thursday, according to Campbell, and is expected to have a chance to return to the starting lineup this Sunday. The rookie right tackle was sorely missed against the Bills and could be a huge catalyst for the Lions offense against the Jets\u2019 stout defense in Week 3.<\/p>\n Ratledge also didn\u2019t appear to suffer an injury in Week 2, so his injury is a bit of a surprise, though a limited practice can be encouraging. We should learn more in Thursday\u2019s report and at Campbell\u2019s presser on Friday.<\/p>\n Hassanein dealing with an illness opens up a wide range of possibilities, but fans can hope it\u2019s something simple like the flu, which is very common this time of the year in Michigan. If his illness does keep him out of this game, it likely won\u2019t have much impact on game planning, as he\u2019s been a healthy scratch so far this season.<\/p>\n LS Hogan Hatten (wrist) \u2014 New injury<\/p>\n Hatten was injured covering a punt in Week 2, but a full practice is a good sign that there isn\u2019t too much to be worried about. A wrist injury is not ideal for a long snapper, but this early participation level is a great sign he is likely to play on Sunday.<\/p>\n No longer on the injury report<\/p>\n C Juice Scruggs (knee)DB Christian Izien (groin)<\/p>\n The players in this section were on last week\u2019s injury report but are now healthy enough to no longer be on the daily injury report.<\/p>\n Jets\u2019 initial injury report<\/p>\n